Contents

A new biography of Anderson, John appears in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography on this site.

John Anderson was born at Inveresk, Midlothian, Scotland,
and as a boy was apprenticed to a blacksmith. He worked 12
hours a day, attended evening classes at the School of Arts
at Edinburgh and gained his diploma and medal. In 1847 he
married Jane Gibson and came out with her and his eldest son,
John, in the Sir George Seymour in 1850. He went to
see the Deans Brothers who advised him to make a start in
Christchurch rather than in Lyttelton; he spent his first
night on the plains at Riccarton. He set up his forge at the
Bricks, the farthest point up the Avon which a boat could
reach, and built a small cottage there. His first account–for
shoeing–is framed and hangs in the office of Andersons Ltd.
He bought a town section on the south side of Cashel Street
and in February 1852 moved his forge and his household there.
He bought the section which backed on to his first one and
gradually spread through to Lichfield Street. Besides his
ordinary work, he would sometimes beat a sovereign into a
wedding ring for a young couple.

In 1857 he imported a steam engine and boiler and machine
tools, and the first real step forward in the history of the
Canterbury Foundry was made; for, of course, he was much more
than a plain blacksmith. He was an engineer, as he was soon
to prove. In 1865 he turned out the first iron lamp post for
the streets of Christchurch; it was set up outside
Tattersalls in Cashel Street. He also had many orders for
screw wool presses. When low wool prices turned the minds of
men to flax milling, he designed and manufactured
flax-stripping machinery. When Canterbury was fully stocked
and before refrigeration had come to the rescue, he made
boiling-down plants for the works at Templeton for the Hon.
William Robinson at Cheviot Hills and other runholders. In
1863 he made the machinery for the Christchurch Gas Co. of
which he became a director. He sent his two eldest sons to
Merchiston School, near Edinburgh, and they remained in
Scotland until their engineering training was completed.

At the election for the first Municipal Council of
Christchurch, when 20 of the foremost citizens were
candidates, he was elected second in the list, the first
place going to John Hall. When, later, the Christchurch City
Council became an incorporated body, Anderson was chosen as
its second Mayor. The Duke of Edinburgh visited Canterbury
during his year of office; and when the welcoming procession
marched through the streets, it was led by the Canterbury
Foundry staff carrying their own banner–light blue with a
large locomotive in the centre. To Anderson fell the task of
presiding at the civic luncheon in honour of the Duke and he
carried out his duties in a manner highly creditable to
himself and to the pride and delight of his fellow citizens.
Soon afterwards the citizens presented him with a silver tea
and coffee service to mark their appreciation of the way in
which he had represented the city. Anderson had a boyish
simplicity, a trait in his character which endeared him to
people. He never made a speech without some quaint turn of
phrase which produced roars of laughter. To commemorate his
year of office he presented an iron fountain with a light on
top which was placed on the footpath in front of the Bank of
New Zealand.

Every year he entertained his men at a dinner; the number
had risen to 30 in 1868. He was one of the first to support
and put into practice the Saturday half holiday. When
Governor Sir G. F. (Bowen) visited Christchurch, he was shown
the Canterbury Foundry as one of the sights of the city.

Anderson was an original director of the New Zealand
Shipping Co. and once when he made a trip to England the
board asked him to inspect the ships they had building there
and satisfy himself that the iron was of good quality. Before
he left Christchurch he was given a dinner at which 100 sat
down. Rolleston proposed his health, and told him to get his
portrait painted when he was in England. On the day he left,
there were unprecedented public demonstrations of
goodwill.

All his life Anderson was a pillar of the Presbyterian
Church, and he made many long trips throughout Canterbury to
new settlements to encourage new congregations. He was among
those who sent a request to Scotland for a minister for
Canterbury and when the Rev. Charles Fraser proved
unsatisfactory, Anderson led the party which determined to
form a second congregation in Christchurch, he himself laying
the foundation stone of the new St. Pauls. When another
minister was wanted, he went with two others to Wanganui to
persuade the Rev. Elmslie to come to St. Pauls. They
succeeded and Anderson's eldest daughter became Elmslie's
second wife.

John Anderson founded a firm which, starting off by making
ploughs and harrows, became one of the largest contractors in
New Zealand. Andersons Ltd. prefabricated some of the biggest
and most difficult railway viaducts and bridges. They made
gold dredges and coastal steamers, and sent large churns to
the other side of the world. The company, moreover, has
remained always under the management of one of the family and
is an example of small-scale capitalism where every employee
is known personally to the management and where, for that
reason, relations between them tend to remain friendly. That
this has happened is due largely to the honourable and just
character of the founder. Anderson died on 30 April 1897,
aged 77.

by George Ranald Macdonald, Retired
Farmer, Kaiapoi R.D.

Press (Christchurch), 30 Apr 1897 (Obit).

Co-creator

by George Ranald Macdonald, Retired Farmer, Kaiapoi R.D.

How to cite this page: 'ANDERSON, John', from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966.Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New ZealandURL: http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/1966/anderson-john (accessed 26 May 2019)